Picture



Patented Nov. 8, I898.

- l. G. MELLINGEB.

P 01' U B E (Application filed. Feb. 16, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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WITNESSES dzzorney I'HE Nanms PETERS 00,, vuorouma. WASHINGTON, 04c

UNITED STATES FATENT @FFICE.

ISAIAH G. MELLINGER, OF LAKE FORREST, ILLINOIS.

PICTURE.

I SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 613,703, dated November 8, 1898.

Application filed February 16, 1898. Serial No. 670,520. (No model.)

To all whom) it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAIAH G. MELLINGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lake Forrest, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pictures; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to pictures; and it consists in the novel construction and combination of the parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, whereby motion may be imparted to parts of the picture.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of the picture constructed according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 3 is a section" taken on the line 0c 00 in Fig. 2.

A is a frame or support.

B is a sheet or plate on which the picture is formed. The sheet B is formed of elastic material, such as india-rubber or any composition .containing india-rubber, and it is carried by the frame A. The elastic sheet is preferably secured to the frame under tension, and any approved means for stretching and securing it may be used. In the drawings B are strips upon which the side edges of the sheet B are wound and secured. The strips B are secured in recesses in the frame, and the top and bottom edges of the sheet are cemented to the frame.

The pictureis formed upon the front surface of the sheet B and may be painted or printed on it, or it may be embossed or otherwise formed so that it is plainly visible.

0 is a back board secured behind the sheet B and which forms a stationary support for those portions of the picture to which motion is not to be imparted. The sheet B is secured to the support 0 at prearranged places by cement or other approved means.

A face is shown in profile as a part of the picture to illustrate what can be accomplished by this invention. The nose and portions of the lips and the chin are secured to the support 0, but the check is not secured, and the support is preferably cut away behind the cheek.

D is a block which is secured to the cheek rious directions.

B at the angle of the month where the sheet is not secured to the support 0. When the block D-is moved to the right, the face will be seen to smile in a natural and attractive manner, the mouth being elongated and the cheek moving, in imitation of a living cheek, in va- The sheet 13 need not have a flat surface, as it may be indented or embossed, but it is preferably secured under tension, so that no wrinkles are formed on its surface when a portion of the surface is stretched locally. An exception to this oc* curs when a wrinkled surface may be effective in some pictures, and then the same can be provided for in arranging the tension of the sheet or plate.

The movable parts of the sheet can be stretched locally in any desired direction or directions, and, if desired, portions of the sheet can be moved inward or outward as well as laterally in the plane of its surface by arranging appropriate actuating mechanism and connecting it to the picture. Any approved actuating mechanism may be used.

E is a lever pivoted to the back board by a pin 6 and provided with a spring c for mov ing it in one direction. The spring c is made of india-rubber, but any other sort of spring can be used.

F is a slide provided with an inclined pro= jection f and a handle f.

F are the guides the slide F moves in, and g are stops for limiting its motion. The face is made to smile when the slide is pushed down so that the projection operates the lever.

Another illustration of the application of this invention is the flower-bud shown in the picture to the left of the face. The calyx and stem of the bud are secured to the stationary support, and blocks D are attached to the sheet behind the edges of the petals where the sheet is movable. An insect is depicted over one of these movable blocks. Two 1evers E similar to the lever E are pivoted to the support and carry the blocks D. The levers E are. moved simultaneously in opposite directions by means of a wedge-shaped projection h on the slide F.

' H is a spring connected to the two levers E. When the slide is pushed down, the bud expands into a flower and the insect moves bodily away from it.

The picture can represent a great variety and number of objects, and the objects or parts of them can be made to move in a great variety of directions by elaborating the simple means hereinbefore described and illustrated for the purpose of showing how the invention is to be carried into effect.

I do not confine myself to the means shown for moving portions of the elastic sheet, as a great many different kinds of mechanism may be used in carrying out the invention.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with a sheet of elastic material having a picture on it, of means for stretching locally a portion of the surface of the said sheet and thereby changing the appearance of the picture, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a sheet of elastic material having a picture on it, of means for holding stationary a portion of the surface of the said sheet, and means for stretching locally another portion of the surface, whereby the appearance of the picture is changed, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a support, of a sheet of elastic material secured to the said support under tension and having a picture on it, and means for stretching locallya portion of the surface of the said sheet, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with asheet of elastic material having a picture on it, of means for stretching locally a portion of the surface of the said sheet in the plane of its surface, whereby one portion of the picture'is elongated and another contracted, substantially as set. forth;

5. The combination, with a frame, and a sheet of elastic material secured to the frame and having a picture on it; of a stationary support having the said sheet secured to it iii certain places, a block secured to the extensi ble portion of the sheet, and operating mechanism for moving the said block back and forth, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a sheet of elastic material having a picture on it, and means for supporting the said sheet; of a block secured to the back of the said sheet, a pivoted lever connected to the said block, a slidable actuating device for moving the said lever in one direction, and means-such as a spring-- for moving the lever in the reverse direction, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with a sheet of elastic material having a picture on it, and means for supporting the said sheet; of operating devices secured to the said sheet in two places, and actuating mechanism for moving the said devices in opposite directions sim ultaneously, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ISAIAII G. MELLINGER.

Witnesses:

LAWRENCE II. W. SrnInnL, II. L. HAGUE. 

